Back to work, and to be honest I was pretty excited to be back on the water, though Colorado love is still deeply on my mind. The canyon is pretty much a ghost town now, the hustle and bustle of tourist and a busy hwy 49 is done. Now more than ever, complete solitude can be found. When I have the right guests who are in shape, I can take them to the more remote sections that receive very little fishing pressure, so I a bit surprised to see the fishing was so good on Beat #16 for this time of year.
Water temps recorded mid day in the upper watershed were at 57 degrees and rose to near 60 in the late afternoon. There were a lot of midges in the air with the occasional mayfly. The bigger size caddis are mostly gone but plenty of smaller ones in a size 18. The middle of the day will be the best time to be on the water and the rainbows will start looking up more frequently just before noon time. Ant patterns have lost their luster with the trout, hoppers too. larger size yellow and orange Stimis with beaded bright and flashy nymphs hanging below in a size 16 worked the best. Another observation we had yesterday was the overall size of the rainbows were bigger with many at 8 to 10 inches, and they have their autumn colors as well with more vibrant coloration and darker hues - Stunning!
Many of the larger trout were found in the smaller pockets instead of the big pools. Many anglers get fixated on those big plunge pools and work them for too long, if you're not catching or getting hits, move upstream to fresher water. High sticking with a dry fly / dropper rig is really the way to go when fishing these pockets, you'll get better drifts with more control, and greater success when it comes to making a solid connection with a hook set.
The fall season on the North Fork Yuba river is short and quick, so act now and get in on some really fun fishing with your 2 to 3 weight rods. If it's your first time in the canyon, check out the North Fork Yuba River GuideBox HERE - It's got everything you need and more! October Caddis are currently starting to munch their way out of there fine pebbled cases, we should see them flying very soon. Love the pumpkin bug.
See you out there...
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| Mimulus lewisii ~ Lewis's Monkeyflower |
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